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Toronto blogger survives solely on social media freebies

For the past eight months, Zach Bussey, 27, has been living only on promotional hand-outs from companies. It’s been a free ride, but not an easy one.

Zach Bussey, a blogger, is trying to live for a year solely off of social media handouts from companies. They give him products and in return he reviews them on his blog. On Thursday he managed to snag a free 5-day stay at a swanky condo. (KEITH BEATY / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

Or at least that’s the case for Zach Bussey, who’s been surviving for the past 8 months on social media alone.

The 27-year-old is in the middle of an experiment in which he feeds, clothes and amuses himself solely though all the promotions and sponsorships he can find on the Internet. He aims to live for one year off of freebies—from food to shirts to toaster ovens—companies send him in exchange for mentions on his blog or social media accounts.

The perks haven’t been quite as plentiful as the commercial freeloader had originally hoped.

“There are many things missing from my life,” says the Torontonian, who’s been spending his nights on a foam camping mattress in lieu of a bed sponsorship. “The project has really made me more of a minimalist.”

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Since Thursday, however, Bussey’s life has taken a maximalist turn. A local condo developer has put him up in a swanky 37th floor penthouse by the Humber Bay for five days. In return, he has to blog about his experience living there.

“I’ve gotten used to waking up stiff, so it’s been nice to sleep in a real bed,” says Bussey, who suffers from scoliosis. “I might be pulled out of here kicking and screaming.”

The idea arose from the many hand-outs Bussey, a professional blogger, received for product reviews. He decided to empty his Danforth Ave. apartment on Jan. 1 and test whether those hand-outs could keep him alive for a year. He wants to donate all his gains to charities once it’s all over.

Bussey set aside $12,000 to cover his rent. But he stopped collecting ad money from his blog, adamant about subsisting only on “pure products” and “pure experience.”

So far, that experience has been taxing. Sponsorships can take weeks, even months to come through. Some days, he dines on restaurant gift cards; other days, he eats only Nutella and nectarines. He broke down crying during a recent podcast, complaining of lack of sleep and gastrointestinal troubles.

“It’s been very tough,” says Bussey, who suffers from chronic stomach pains. “There’ve been a lot of times I said I wanted to get out of this.”

The blogger also yearns to get out, period. The only social outings he attends are free promotional events.

“I haven’t been on a date all year,” he says.

Bussey’s family has been mostly supportive, if not perturbed. He still has dinner once a week at his grandmother’s house, just to calm her nerves.

“We thought he was crazy at first,” says his sister Stefania Bussey, 23. “When he gets sick, how is he going to take care of himself? At what point is he going to stop?’”

But if it were up to Bussey’s sponsors, he’d never stop. Empire Communities, the condo company temporarily housing him, covets his online influence.

“Marketing has changed over the years,” says Nikki Bettinelli, Empire’s social media coordinator. “People would rather make friends before they trust a brand…. It’s important to reach out to bloggers these days and get your message across to a third party who these people really trust.”

Bussey just hopes he can trust his sponsors back.

“Charmin sent me a big box of toilet tissue early on,” he says. “I’m down to my last few rolls. I don’t know if there’ll be a refill.”

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